PRANAYAMA & THE BREATH

MODULE

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TERMINOLOGY & DEFINITIONS

BREATHING FUNDAMENTALS

PERSPECTIVES & CAUTIONS

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CONTENTS

PRANAYAMA TECHNIQUES

BASIC BREATH TRAINING & YOGIC

BREATHING

Pranayama & The Breath Module

Chapter Highlights

TERMINOLOGY & DEFINITIONSQUESTIONS ANSWERED HERE

INTRODUCTION KEY PRANAYAMA CONCEPTS & TERMS, THEIRDEFINITIONS, DISTINCTIONS AND RELATIONSHIP

PRANA & BREATHINGStabilizing and refining prana, our life force, is

the centerpiece of yoga practice... When prana flows

smoothly, our attention can focus and our heart-mind

can calm down.

PRANAYAMA

– Nicolai Bachman, The Path of the Yoga Sutras

PURAKA, RECHAKA, KUMBHAKA

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QUESTIONS ANSWERED HERE

• What do yogis mean by the word "prana”?

• How is prana derived?

• What is the relationship between prana and breathing practices?

• What two roots make up the word, "pranayama" and what do they mean?

• Why is it important to distinguish between the root "ayama" vs "yama?“

• What does pranayama do?

• Define puraka, rechaka and kumbhaka.

• What are typical movement pairings for the inhalation? For the exhalation?

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THE BREATH & NATURALBREATHING

• Physical process of breathing

• Impact of breath on nervous system

• Fundamentals of natural breathing

KEY DISTINCTIONS

There are multiple angles from which to

examine the topic of pranayama and

breathing.

While all are relevant and related, awareness

of the distinctions will assist you in

organizing your own study and in

choosing teachings for different situations.

We offer expert teachings in each of these

areas. Here in this chapter we focus on the

distinctions and relationships between

these topics.

BASIC BREATH TRAINING &YOGIC BREATHING

• Basic breath training, such as

awareness of the breath

• Yogic breathing to increase

respiratory efficiency

PRANA

• Prana as life-force energy separate from

the breath

• The relationship between prana and breath

• Energy concepts and subtle anatomy from

yoga philosophy

PRANAYAMA

• Pranayama as one of the 8 Limbs and a

yogic technique to access, stabilize,

refine and direct prana

• Cautions

• Techniques

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• From the yogic point of view, breath contains more

than gases; it contains prana, our life force, “that

substance from which all life and activity is derived.“

• Hatha Yoga is the management of prana.

• Breathing affects every system in our body.

• Although part of the autonomic nervous system,

breathing can be controlled at will.

• Research shows the direct connection between

breathing patterns and emotions.

• Focusing on the breath is a fundamental tool for

beginning to settle the mind and feel the body.

• A vital teaching for all levels of students is to maintain

awareness of their breath.

PRANA &BREATHING

We extract prana from such sources as food, light

and love.

Breathing practices are considered the most

effective way to channel prana.

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READINGS ON PRANA

In the ancient Sanskrit language, the word for breath is the same as the word for life, prana… Prana enters our bodies when

we are born and mysteriously leaves us when we die. In the same way that the concept of a person's soul is unlikely to be

proven by modern science, so the idea of prana remains unproven.

– Larry Payne, Yoga RX

We inhale precious energy called prana, chi, qi. This is the same life force we extract from food, light, and love…The clearer and

stronger the life force essential to our survival is, the better we look and feel. When our minds become clear, decisions are

easier; the emotions find their right place and bring us renewed fulfillment... Although we take in prana in many ways, breathing

practices are the most effective way to channel that life force into all parts of the body and mind.

– Nischala Joy Devi, The Secret Power of Yoga

At its heart, hatha yoga is more than just flexibility or strength in postures; it is the management of prana, the vital life force

that animates all levels of being.

– Sandra Anderson, Yoga International, The 5 Prana Vayus in Yoga: Prana

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SANKRIT

• The Sanskrit word, prana means “life force.”

• The word, ayama means to “enhance” or “alter.”

• Pranayama, therefore, refers to breath altering practices that bring

about a fuller expression of life force.

TRANSLATION DIFFERENCES

Some sources define pranayama as "breath control or restraint"

likely because they are defining "prana" and "yama."DEFINING

PRANAYAMAIN THE YOGA SUTRAS

• The fourth of the 8 limbs is pranayama, referring to breath

practices designed to enhance one's life force energy.

• Other descriptions of pranayama include "mastering, "harnessing"

or "stabilizing and refining" prana.

• A vast capacity of prana is needed to raise the energy from the

physical to the spiritual realms. (Nischala Joy Devi)

• Sutra 2.52 explains that successful pranayama practice reduces

the obstacles that inhibit clear perception. (T.K.V. Desikachar)

• See more here.

Hindi speaking Indians have the habit of

dropping the final ‘a’ in Sanskrit words. So it’s

actually prana-ayama, meaning

‘unobstructing the breath,’ not ‘breath control’

as it’s commonly translated.

Ours is sometimes a society of restrictions,

control, and don’ts instead of undoing and

unlearning

– Leslie Kaminoff

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BREATHING TERMINOLOGY

• Extending spine

• Opening chest

• Lengthening (unfolding,

straightening body)

• Energizing

• Moving toward center

PURAKA RECHAKA

ANTARA

KUMBHAKA

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• Forward bending (folding,

becoming more compact)

• Twisting

• Side bending

• Releasing tension,

relaxing

• Moving aware from

center

BAHYA

KUMBHAKA

RETENTION

AFTER INHALE

RETENTION

AFTER EXHALEINHALATION EXHALATION

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• Puraka means "filling," "completing," "fulfilling,"

"satisfying," as well as "flood" or "stream." (Richard

Rosen, The Yoga of Breath)

• The inhalation is known as the stimulating and

energizing aspect of the breath.

• It is associated with warming,* opening, expanding

and spaciousness.

• In yoga philosophy, the inhalation is said to be

controlled by prana, the upward flowing energy. This

is said to be felt as an "upward floating, spreading,

branching, and flowering pattern. Its home is the

core of the heart." (Richard Freeman).

• Freeman tells us that prana lengthens or extends the

spine as in a backbend and brings the legs into

internal rotation.

PURAKA

* Expert Dr. Timothy McCall notes that he was taught that the

inhalation is warming and the exhalation is cooling (and that

he taught this for years). But his experience began to indicate

something different, and he began doing informal tests with

students. See article.

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• Rechaka means "emptying," It is the "path of cessation."

(Richard Rosen, The Yoga of Breath)

• The exhalation is known as the calming and soothing

aspect of the breath.

• It is associated with cooling,* grounding and

centeredness.

• Focusing on the exhalation and gently lengthening it is

known for soothing anxiety.

• In yoga philosophy, the exhalation is said to be

controlled by apana, the downward flowing energy. This

is said to be a "downward rooting flow, which contracts,

or tones, into a seed point at the center of the pelvic

floor. This small area in the perineum is also known as

the mula, or root, in yoga." (Richard Freeman)

RECHAKA

* Expert Dr. Timothy McCall notes that he was taught that

the inhalation is warming and the exhalation is cooling (and that

he taught this for years). But his experience began to indicate

something different, and he began doing informal tests with

students. See article.

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• Breath retention is often associated with stillness, harmony, potential,

and connection with the Divine.

• Iyengar notes that during prolonged breath retention, the heart rate

slows, providing it rest.

• Breath retention after inhalation is called antara kumbhaka.

• Some describe it as intensifying the effects of inhalation

• Iyengar associates it with "illumination and bliss."

• Retention after exhalation is called bahya kumbhaka. It is sometimes

described as intensifying the effects of exhaling.

• Iyengar associates it with a sense of detachment. Some describe it as

peaceful.

• See the serious cautions for kumbhaka here.

KUMBHAKA

Kumbhaka is a special kind of stopping, only performed when the aspirant

has rigorously trained himself to tap into the very essence of life, the

infinite pranic reservoir of the universe... For our purposes, retention is a

willfully prolonged rest in the breathing cycle that allows us to extract the

maximum amount of prana from the inhaled air and soak it into all the

cells of our body. This both calms and invigorates the body-mind,

stretches and strengthens our breathing muscles and lungs, and makes us

more efficient breathers. It helps us direct awareness away from the

outside world and toward the inner world of our authentic self .

– Richard Rosen, The Yoga of Breath

Inhales and exhales arefluctuations that bind us to the everyday world of becoming.When we stop these fluctuations in kumbhaka, the grip of this world, andits avidya, is loosened. We becomemore like our authentic self: still andserene, self-contained, joyful.

– Richard Rosen

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END TERMINOLOGY &DEFINITIONS

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